Sketching at the Nasher: Joan Arp Bronze

This past Thursday, The Nasher Sculpture Center hosted a Sketching in the Galleries led by Lisa Nersesova. I chose this bronze sculpture by Joan Arp entitled "Torso with Buds" for a graphite and conte drawing.

Sketching in the Galleries: Gordan Parks Photograph

Tonight our instructor led us into the exhibit All The World is A Stage where we drew from a selection of small drawings, lithographs, and photographs. I chose this photograph by Gordan Parks of Ingrid Bergman at Stromboli, Italy. I was most interested in the relationship of the very dark shapes within this image and used a carbon pencil, H, and Ebony Pencil on Bristol Paper to reproduce the contrast.

This was the last artist facilitated Sketching in the Galleries at the Dallas Museum of Art. Sketching in the Galleries will continue to be encouraged but there will be no regular artist led program so that they can focus their public programs funding toward Thursday night adult events in the new Center for Creative Connections.

Sketching In The Galleries - Rodins Shadow

Our instructor this month is Brad Ford Smith. He took us to the European Galleries where we were to look at shadows, either from Sculptures, or how they were depicted in paintings. I chose to work on a shadow of a bronze by Rodin cast on the wall. I was particularly interested in the aura of light around the head and arm in the shadow.

Sketching inthe Galleries at the Nasher: Volution

This week our DMA Sketching in the Galleries class went across the street to the Nasher Sculpture Center. Although we did several sketches, this green watercolor pencil on black paper was my favorite. The subject was a 1964 Painted Fiberglas Sculpture by Isaac Whitkin.

Sketching in the Galleries: Remington and Russell at the Amon Carter Museum

Today I went to Ft Worth to first watch my niece ride in the Youth Cutting, and second to work on some horse drawing studies from Remington and Russell Paintings at the Amon Carter Museum. The top drawing was my first and I failed to note which painting it was from. I chose it because it is very similar to views I encounter when I photograph Cutting horses from the side.

This sketch is from one of the Amon Carter favorites by Frederick Remington entitled "His First Lesson."

The following sketches are done in pairs to get all of the action. Both are by Charles M Russell.

This sketch is from "Loops and Swift Horses are Surer than Lead." Click on the image to see a larger view of this pair of drawings.

This pair of drawings are from "Wild Horse Hunters." I chose this image because of the complicated postion of these horses. It seems to me that these complicated images are more easily drawn than the simple side views. Click on this image to see a larger view.

Sketching in the Galleries - Turkish Horse II

This week I sketched the Turkish Horse bronze again, this time from a lower back view. The media is carbon and white pencil on brown card stock.

Sketching in the Galleries - Old in front of New

Our assignment this week was to sketch a figure in the European gallery and then move to the a new installation of contemporary art and create a background. In the new composition we would be placing old in front of new. I chose the Bugler by Manet, and placed in in front of an abstract distemper painting by Peter Doig. For this project I used a medium gray paper, white, carbon and Sanguine pencil.

Sketching at the Nasher: Hepworth Monolith

This past Thursdays' Sketching classs was held at the Nasher Sculpture Garden. Our instructions were to tone our paper with charcoal or Conte and then draw our chosen sculpture using an eraser for highlighting.

Sketching in the Galleries - Inside Outside

This week we first went to the African Galleries and chose two different objects and drew the basic contour of the object. We then went the European Galleries and filled the contour shapes first within the contour on one sheet, and then on the outside of the contour on the other.



Within the Inside shape I chose a an impressionist painting of men sharpening their hay scythes. The shapes of the scythe fit the shape I was filling. For the outside contour I chose a portrait showing the eye and nose within the opening in the shape.

Sketching in the Galleries: Silver and Reflectivity

This week we were in the European Silver Gallery drawing reflective subjects. I chose this bowl because it did not have lots of textural surfaces. I was working on the drawing the specular nature and the reflections from the surfaces. This is also a continuation of an experiment with drawing white on black. I felt this was the perfect media for this project.

Sketchbook: March Gallery Sketching

The project for this past Thursday night was to integrate 2D and 3D. We were sketching in the Japanese/Chinese Decorative Art Galleries. I chose this pair of vases from the 19th century Meijing Period. I used my favorite light and dark sketching technique. I believe that these vases depict Mt Fuji. They were on a pedestal with one forward and the other back closer to the wall.

This drawing was done in the George Segal Exhibit at the Nasher on March 19. I thought that this scene was very similar to that depicted in Edward Hopper's Nighthawks in both subject and character.



This sketch was done in the European Galleries on March 12. Our assignment was to integrate multiple 2d Artwork into one. All of the paintings I chose were on the same section in the gallery. The children in the foreground are in a painting entitled "The Lesson." A Manet Painting entitled "The Bugler" is in the background, as is the portrait to the left.

SketchBook: Nasher Sculpture Center Segal Exhibit

This pastel on toned ground is of homeless man plaster cast at the George Segal Street People Exhibit at the Nasher Sculpture Center. This exhibit is a wonderful collection of lifesized plaster and bronze figures in their environment. Most of these sculptures are from other collections, however a grouping entitled "After Rush Hour" is part of the Nasher Collection, and I had drawn this a little over a year ago in the Sculpture Garden.Both of these life size sculptures as well as others on both floors of the Nasher Sculpture Center were modeled after the Sculptor and his friends. This exhibit continues until April 5, 2009.

Sketching In The Galleries: An American Portrait, John Wesley Jarvis

Our Instructor, Linda Ridgeway, brought us to the American 19th Century Gallery in Celebration of the Birthday of Abraham Lincoln. Our assignment was reverse drawing where we use a white pencil on black paper. This is one of my favorite ways to draw. I chose this 1815-20 painting by John Wesley Jarvis entitled Portrait of a Man.

Sketchbook: Turkish Horse

This evening our teacher did not show up so we had an opportunity for a free choice night of sketching. I returned to a familiar small sculpture of a Turkish Horse in the European Galleries drawing on brown paper with sepia and white pencils.

Sketching in the Galleries: Early Texas Wardrobe

Tonight we went to the Early American Galleries with the assignment to draw furniture. We were draw either two drawings, or to continue with the same drawing after a mid-session review. We started with the goal to accurately deal with perspective issues. After the review we were assigned the task of accurately showing the texture of the surfaces were were drawing. After the review I continued the same drawing, working more on the wood grain and adding shadows. I finished by giving the wardrobe a sense of space, dealing with adjecent shadows and adding the candle table casting the shadow on its side. This wardrobe is from Fayatte Count Texas, manufactured the 1860-70's of cedar. The cabinet and drawer panels are painted.

Sketching In The Galleries: Chinese Polo Horse

Tonight our assignment was to a couple of sketches where we must go off the page on 3 sides. My first sketch was this Polo Horse Polo Horse tomb figure from from China dated between 618-907 AD. I drew this horse on brown paper with graphite and white prismacolor pencil.

I took this photo Jan 22 so you could see what I was drawing from.

Sketching In The Galleries: Ancient Halloween Mask?

This week we were supposed to go to the Nasher Sculpture Center, but that did not work out so we went to the Early Americas Section. I chose this Olmec Mask from a the Veracruz Mexico 900-500 BC. In this drawing I used graphite and White Watercolor Pencil on Black Paper. I first drew the middle ground values in graphite pencil and came back with the white with the highlights and texture. I finished with a very soft dark graphite/clay pencil adding dark areas and additional textural features.

Sketching In the Galleries: That Gentleman

This week in sketching in the galleries I chose to sketch part of one of my favorite paintings. This is the head of That Gentleman, an egg tempera painted by Andrew Wyeth in 1960. This painting holds a little more significance since I visited with his grandson at the Wyeth Hurd Gallery in Santa Fe New Mexico this summer (July, 2008).

Sketching in the Galleries: Eve in the Garden

Tonight we had our 3rd Thursday sketching at at the Nasher Scupture Center. Since there was a special private event tonight, we went into the scupture garden where we were to pick a landscape. Since we were outdoors I had the option of using pastels, which I planned for. I brought a box of NuPastel and a few sheets of Art Spectrum Color Fix (tinted) paper. Since we were sketching in teh last hour of the day, I chose a paper with a dark tint so I could sketch for night. I chose a landscape with Rodin's "Eve" in the foreground and Richard Serras' "My Curves are not Mad" in the backgroud. I spent the first part of the evening working on the basic sketch since soon it would be difficult to see the the details of my subject. I then began with the pastels blocking in the scene. As the light faded the sculpture and tree lighting came on completely changing the scene. I used my yellow and light blue pastel to bring out the highlights. When I had nearly finished I noticed the Richard Serra's "Curves" had lots of shadow from the trees. I came back and added the light spilling on the Curves and added the shadows of the trees.

Sketching in the Galleries: Lighthouse Hill

Our instructor called in sick this past Thursday, so we were invited to sketch on our own. I went to the American Galleries and sketched this DMA favorite by Edward Hopper: Lighthouse Hill.